Which metro areas in Virginia are people moving to?
Winchester, VA-WV (13.6 per 1,000 residents), Staunton-Stuarts Draft, VA (10.9 per 1,000 residents) and Kingsport-Bristol, TN-VA (8.6 per 1,000 residents) drew the most people from the rest of the U.S. for their size among Virginia metro areas in 2025.
Data as of 2025 · updated
All 10 ranked Virginia metro areas
| Rank | Metro area | Per 1,000 residents, 2025 | Net movers 2025 | Residents |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Winchester, VA-WV | 13.6 | +2,079 | 152,332 |
| 2 | Staunton-Stuarts Draft, VA | 10.9 | +1,409 | 129,692 |
| 3 | Kingsport-Bristol, TN-VA | 8.6 | +2,692 | 314,834 |
| 4 | Lynchburg, VA | 8.2 | +2,214 | 269,169 |
| 5 | Richmond, VA | 5.4 | +7,543 | 1,389,338 |
| 6 | Roanoke, VA | 1.9 | +597 | 316,547 |
| 7 | Charlottesville, VA | 1.4 | +312 | 228,597 |
| 8 | Harrisonburg, VA | 0.0 | +4 | 140,155 |
| 9 | Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA | −1.3 | −231 | 181,616 |
| 10 | Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | −3.7 | −23,791 | 6,465,724 |
How this is ranked
Net domestic migration from the Census Bureau's population estimates for 2025: people who moved in from the rest of the U.S. minus people who moved out, per 1,000 residents. Moves between the area's own counties cancel out; moves from and to other countries are not included. Only metropolitan statistical areas of two or more counties are ranked (OMB Bulletin 23-01): a one-county area's figures are its county's, and micro areas are left out. Areas without a figure for the same period as the others are not ranked. An area that crosses a state line is ranked in each of its states.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program (Vintage 2025). Figures come from public federal statistics and are informational only, not investment advice. Check the source before relying on a number. Methodology: how ranks and figures are built.
Get the report for any Virginia county — $99
The County Growth and Demographics Report for any county as a PDF, from federal data: population and migration, housing and rents, permits, private employers and jobs, unemployment, ranks in the state and the country, and neighbouring counties, with a source next to every number. Pay once, no subscription.
Every purchase also includes a CSV of every table in the report, ready for a spreadsheet.
- Not useful? Email us within 14 days for a full refund
- Sold by Simply Stats LLC (NC)
- Secure Stripe checkout (Apple Pay/Google Pay)
- Instant PDF download
- PDF + CSV of every table
Refund terms: Terms. · How we compute every number
Questions
Which metro area in Virginia gains the most people from the rest of the country?
Winchester, VA-WV: 13.6 per 1,000 residents, ahead of Staunton-Stuarts Draft, VA (10.9 per 1,000 residents) and Kingsport-Bristol, TN-VA (8.6 per 1,000 residents), of 10 Virginia metro areas ranked.
How is this ranking calculated?
Net domestic migration from the Census Bureau's population estimates for 2025: people who moved in from the rest of the U.S. minus people who moved out, per 1,000 residents. Moves between the area's own counties cancel out; moves from and to other countries are not included. Only metropolitan statistical areas of two or more counties are ranked (OMB Bulletin 23-01): a one-county area's figures are its county's, and micro areas are left out. Areas without a figure for the same period as the others are not ranked. An area that crosses a state line is ranked in each of its states.